3 things that changed my life in 2024
big changes through baby steps
Change takes time. It’s little by little. I’ve never been good at maintaining intense commitments. Never ask me to join your “30-day blah blah blah” challenge. I won’t do it. Dry January? Sounds daunting. Sounds like a recipe for shame and disappointment.
I’m more of a baby steps kinda guy. Change one thing at a time. See how I feel. It’s true what they say about baby steps. (Just kidding– I don’t know what they say.) But here’s what I’ll say – baby steps are still steps.
In 2024 I baby-stepped my way into building better habits, loving myself more, and meeting more of my goals.
1. I started tracking my alcohol intake.
I’m always questioning my relationship with alcohol. Do I drink too much? What is normal? What if I stopped altogether? Is it true that even just 1 drink is absolutely awful for you? But what if I love beer? Is that ok? What is normal??? I’m constantly searching for any shred of guiding information to grab onto.
I’ve tried setting rules for myself– “no drinks during the week”, “only 5 drinks a week”, “do not exceed 3 drinks when going out.” It always falls apart. I’m never good at sticking to rules, especially when I don’t know what the rule is based in.
Enter: Sunnyside. In my search for apps that help people quit alcohol altogether, I found Sunnyside, an app that simply helps you track your intake. What happened what unexpected. In tracking my intake, my shame reduced, even when I exceeded my target. It is what it is.
It helped me create more mindful decisions about alcohol, and that mindfulness rippled throughout other decisions in my life. Do I actually want a drink right now? Am I just bored? Anxious? When the answer is “no,” I can redirect the energy elsewhere. When the answer is “yes,” it’s ok! Sometimes it’s ok to have a drink, lol.
2. I started running.
I’ve never been big on exercising for the sake of it. When I was a kid, I danced, in my 20s, I climbed. Both activities brought me great joy, confidence, and escape. We all need an outlet to tune out our brains into our bodies. I’ve always enjoyed running for this benefit, but I’ve struggled to stick with it. Enter: non-judgmental accountability.
This past summer a group of friends and I started a Bad Runners Club. We’re all in our 30s and looking to help each other stay active. Here’s how it works: Tuesday evenings we all show up at Palmer Square Park. We run. We don’t run the same speed. We don’t run the same distance. Some people walk. Sometimes we get tacos after. We congratulate each other for showing up.
I protected this Tuesday evening time (as best as I could). I found enough joy out of this practice that I ran more and more on my own time. Better choices rippled throughout the rest of my life because I was running. I slept better. I was happier. I had better energy. Less depression. All because I baby-stepped my way into running. Months later I’m still running!
3. I started morning pages.
If you are an artist and haven’t heard of morning pages, you might actually live under a rock. There’s a good chance if you’re reading this you’ve probably at some point in your life done morning pages. In 2024 I finally gave it a try.
If you aren’t familiar, Morning Pages is one of the tools from Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way. The idea is that every morning before you do anything work-related, you journal for three pages. This simple little practice has changed the lives of countless artists, me included.
Before morning pages, I used to draw every morning for 10 minutes. It served a similar purpose– expelling my morning feelings, regulating my internal energy before the daily cortisol storm swept me away. Something happened in 2024 where judgment and self doubt creeped in. Slowly I lost my drawing habit. Stress took over. My mornings no longer fostered mental clarity and bad energy rippled throughout my days.
I told a friend how I was feeling and she strongly encouraged me to try morning pages. I'd heard about it a million times, but finally this time it resonated. I started in September 2024 and I’m still doing it today!
Did you baby step your way into something in 2024? I’d love to hear about it! Best of luck to you and all your baby step adventures in 2025!
big year for healthy habits!!!